Aston Villa, last save before 2010.

[TheBetterHalf]

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Using a 09/10 Update<o></o>​

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Mission: To make Villa a solid topteam in a realistic way. Not signing the same players that user always does. Ar the end of this starting post, there will be hotlinks to my posts further on in the thread<o></o>​

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The squad<o></o>​

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GK


Friedel, Brad : First choice that lacks in first touch, Apart from that, a great GK<o></o>
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Guzan, Brad: Another Brad, another American Goalie. His lack in decision makes him a security risk<o></o>



Defenders

Cuéllar, Carlos : Adequate DC. Not my kind of player and he hasn’t got specific competence in either anticipation or the pace<o></o>
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Davies, Curtis : Much better DC, a future star if getting his decision stat up. The team depends slightly too much on him<o></o>

Shorey, Nicky : Fullback (left) that is intelligent and attacking minded. He has great crossing ability but lacks somewhat in pace<o></o>
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Young, Luke : Hardworking Fullback (right), a real fighter. Lacks Arial ability<o></o>
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Bouma, Wilfred : Strong Fullback with lots of experience.

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Summary<o></o>
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The flanks are very well covered tough I would have liked some more Arial ability<o></o>
The Centre on the other hand is in desperate need of another DC.<o></o>

Midfielders
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Gardner, Craig : Very aggressive and quick player that possesses great equine. Tough to beat in tight spots but might suffer when playing in wide pitches against teams stretching our defence<o></o>​

Petrov, Stiliyan: Determined Defensive midfielder <o></o>
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Sidwell, Steve : Hardworking MC with endless Stamina. Lacks the flair to do the unexpected<o></o>
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Delph, Fabian: As good as he might be when it comes to handling the ball, just as weak is he when it comes to his defensive skills<o></o>
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Salifou, Moustapha : Determined MC that lacks in movement and marking<o></o>
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Reo-Coker, Nigel : Extremely string DMC with great defensive skills. Important player now that Barry has left

Cahill, Tim * New signing : Incredibly string box2box AMC with great Arial ability. Lacks creativity<o></o>​

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Snra, Darijo * New signing : Well, you know him. Extremely competent player that can play both in defence and midfield. Lack in Arial ability<o></o>

Milner, James. 2-footed box2box winger with good crossing ability. Very important player as he can both cut in and deliver a t-ball as well and cross from the byline towards the near post

Young, Ashley : Pacey winger with great movement. Will attract the attention of bigger clubs<o></o>
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Downing, Stewart : Great attacking winger that lacks in defensive skills
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Summary<o></o>
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We have many great defensive midfielders and if getting a bid for one of them, I will probably take it. The flanks are also well covered as we have both great attacking players and defensive to use depending on the opposition/situation<o></o>




<o></o>Attackers

Agbonlahor, Gabriel : Pacey striker that lacks some technique to be a world class striker

Carew, John: Complete striker with lots of routine

Harewood, Marlon : Strong , Pacey Striker that sadly lacks poacher material.<o></o>
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Heskey, Emile : Strong Target man type. Quick for a guy of his size. Carew is slightly better in the pitch but Emile is more of a team player<o></o>

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Summary:<o></o>
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Another very strong area. Not many teams in the world can measure when it comes to pace and strengths. We might lack slightly in the poacher area but you can’t have it all can you

The tactic<o></o>

The tactic I will be using is a 442 Diamond with one strong poacher and one quick more creative FC. The approach is slow and probing and by playing narrow, we will deny the opponent space. The Aim is to make is very difficult to beat us and when facing team that sits very deep, we will widen our play and up the tempo slightly. Ehen playing teams that are aggressive and using a high d-line, we will play a more direct and quick game, hitting them on the break<o></o>​

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Hotlinks

Pre-season - Post 12, first page
Gmae one - Hull away - Post 14


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[KevyMatts]

def gonna follow this seems really interesting and alot of detail put into it

 

[David 0404]

me too

 

[Keith]

me too nice to see u use pictures

 

[tiraths]

Ur going to star milner ahead of ashley young?
Maybe get bordon as CB to add some experience

 

[Jeffers]

Good luck, i'll be following

 

[Redrup]

This already seems to be the most in-depth story out there, will be following this thread.

 

[Jamie F]

Thats a tough decision between Milner and Young. Right call in my opinion as much as i hate to say it, always admired Young but Milner has a better left foot

 

[TheBetterHalf]

Ur going to star milner ahead of ashley young?
Maybe get bordon as CB to add some experience

In some matches, Ashley and Agbonlahor as Wingers will be the better option but when playing away, we will need wingers that can cope defensively and then Milner and Snra is far better. After all , they are the only players in "midfield".

During the season, I will put up my tactical reasoning. If playing A.Young, his instructions might differ from playing Downing, Milner or even Shorey in left flank. The crossing aim might also differ depending on who is playing up front.

 

[Max]

I'll be following, looks really detailed and interesting Good luck!

 

[Redrup]

Badboy Diamond? Hehe.

 

[TheBetterHalf]

Pre-season<o></o>​

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Not much to say here. Besides us signing Cahill and Snra, we toured <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country-region></st1lace> and gave all players the chance to show them worthy of a shirt in the first team.<o></o>
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In the end, no major injuries and Agbonlahor showed me that he is the first choice as the pacey striker up front<o></o>
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[FONT=&quot]Some matches, like the ones facing ultra defensive opponents, I switched to this more attacking version ( referd to in the OP)


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[sonos]

ill follow too, good luck with it

 

[TheBetterHalf]

First game of the season<o></o>​

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<st1lace w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Hull</st1:city></st1lace> – away<o></o>​

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We lined up the following formation<o></o>​

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Reasoning<o></o>​

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I wanted to use our pace against a rather deep sitting and Slowish Hull. By playing Young in the AMC, I wanted him to beat his man and drag the DC´s out of position, ableing our FCs to find space. I also wanted natural feet on the correct flanks so that they would not cut inside, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hull</st1lace></st1:city> playing vey narrow, the space would be found down the flanks<o></o>
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First half<o></o>
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0 – 1 ( 11 ) Carew<o></o>
0-2 (15) Carew <o></o>
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We totally dominated the match and they looked like headless chickens. After 32 minutes, they raised they d-line from sitting deep to using a very high one. I then switched version to the quick and direct counter version and had 2 more good chances in the 1:st half<o></o>
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2:nd half<o></o>
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0-3 ( 55) Agbonlahor<o></o>
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It only took us 10 minutes to make it 3-<st1:metricconverter productid="0, a" w:st="on">0, a</st1:metricconverter> quick attack on the break. After that our team stopped playing totally and I switched to the Control version, only this time I reduced the width, setting it to normal as they were playing a cautious, defensive approach, sitting deep and compact, enabling us to put pressure on them in the centre of the park <o></o>
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[Max]

Good start, Hull are sometimes a pain to beat away, they usually cause no threat, but it sometimes takes a while to get the ball in the net You seemed to have no problems here though, nice one

 

[Frank]

The Better Half whats with Your sig?

 

[TheBetterHalf]

better half whats with ur sig

I just removed it as it was from an old save.

 

[Danny]

Good Luck with this ill be following this for sure

 

[Keith]

great win vs hull

 

[Ben]

Quality story I will certainly be following, you seem like a tactical master, seen a few of your tactics and if I donwloaded any I would probably download yours tbh. Very in-depth and detailed and a good win V Hull Keep it up!